Art abounds: Three local exhibits opening this afternoon

Visual art enthusiasts have the opportunity to attend three art exhibit openings this afternoon in downtown Henderson — at the Rotunda Gallery of the Henderson County Public Library, in the Salon Gallery at RiverBend Academy (the former lobby area of the Soaper Hotel) and at First United Methodist Church.

Ohio Valley Area League has been the coordinator for all three shows.

"It just worked out well to have the openings on the same afternoon," said Jule McClellan, curator for OVAL, who imagines people visiting the library and RiverBend first and then migrating to First Methodist, where there will be a concert and awards ceremony in mid-afternoon. "It has the potential for helping everybody."

The library exhibit features the photography of Lowry Igleheart-Keach. It is titled "Drawn From Nature" and the artist has captured "nature's hidden nuances and fleeting moments" in fine details.

McClellan described the work as beautiful with an abstract quality in some of Igleheart-Keach's works.

The meet-the-art reception is set for 1:30-3 p.m. in the Rotunda Gallery. The exhibit, which runs through March 4, can be viewed during library hours.

The RiverBend exhibit is the "Henderson Society of Arts Members Show" featuring 26 pieces. The organization offers an open exhibit called "A Fresh Perspective" later in the spring at the library, but this current show gives its own members a chance to put their best work in the spotlight.

The opening also runs from 1:30-3 p.m. Visitors should use the Second Street entrance. The exhibit will remain through early April. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.

The juried-for-awards exhibit at First United Methodist, 338 Third St., is the ninth-annual "The Art of Well Being" exhibit.

Artists were invited to interpret well-being and submit a piece of art, and artists responded with the largest ever number of pieces for the exhibit (55) including paintings, ceramic, fiber, handmade paper, batik, collage and mixed media.

The opening begins at 3 p.m. and awards will be announced following a concert by soprano Jessica Vanover and pianist Matthew Vanover performing Schubert, Faure, Barber, Brahms, Debussy, Charles and a brand-new song that will be featured in the score for "The Taffy Opry: The Last Christmas Parade."

The juror was Amy Musia. The exhibit runs through March 3.

"The approaches taken by each of the artists that gained the top honors were very diverse — thinking outside the box, manipulating a common element to create a calming image, expressing fragments of color within a scene that one has trained their eye to see, embracing nature's form by magnifying its shapes and lastly, depicting the innocence of a treasured moment in a young boy's life," she said in her juror's statement. "I congratulate these artists and those whose technique gained them merit and honorable mention awards."